Justice Henry Brockholst Livingston

Justice Henry Brockholst Livingston joined the U.S. Supreme Court on January 20, 1807, replacing Justice William Paterson. Livingston was born on November 25, 1757 in New York City. He graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1774, just before the American Revolution.

Livingston joined the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War and participated in the pivotal Saratoga campaign. He also accompanied future Supreme Court Chief Justice John Jay, his brother-in-law, on a diplomatic mission to Spain. Livingston was admitted to the New York bar in 1783 and entered private practice. In 1802, he became a Justice on the New York Supreme Court of Judicature (now the New York Supreme Court), where he wrote a famous dissent in the influential property law case of Pierson v. Post.

On November 10, 1806, President Thomas Jefferson appointed Livingston to the U.S. Supreme Court during a recess of the Senate. Jefferson formally nominated him on December 13, and the Senate confirmed him on December 17. Livingston took the judicial oath about a month later. He spent all of his 16 years on the Court in the shadow of Chief Justice John Marshall, writing no memorable opinions.

Livingston died on March 18, 1823 in Washington, D.C. and was buried in New York City. Justice Smith Thompson replaced him on the Supreme Court.